Negros Occidental and capital Bacolod City have recorded the highest number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases in the Negros Island Region (NIR) this year, according to data from the Department of Health (DOH).

As of February, NIR reported 42 new HIV cases, with 25 cases in Negros Occidental and 16 in Bacolod.

All 42 cases involved males, predominantly aged 25 to 34 years.

Among them, 35 contracted the virus through male-to-male sexual contact, four through both male and female partners, two through female partners only, and one case remains unknown, data revealed.

From January to March 2025, NIR recorded 125 new HIV cases, though the DOH has yet to release a detailed provincial breakdown.

In 2024, the region had 39 new HIV cases: 17 in Negros Occidental, 14 in Bacolod, five in Negros Oriental, and three in Dumaguete City.

Since 1986, the NIR has logged 3,796 HIV cases, with 490 deaths, including 16 deaths recorded in 2025 alone.

Over 39 years, Negros Occidental has reported 1,781 cases, while Bacolod accounts for 1,237 cases.

Meanwhile, Bacolod Vice Mayor-elect and Committee on Health and Sanitation chairperson Kalaw Puentevella warned that HIV remains a more dangerous and contagious disease than mpox (formerly monkeypox), urging the public to take the illness seriously, exercise caution and raise awareness.

The city government has intensified HIV prevention campaigns in response to the rising number of cases and transmission rates./JB, WDJ